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T HE K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S keep his eye upon th e risen Man in the glory. This picture of P aul is an inspiring one: A grizzled, scar-m arked veteran,, he stands w ith th e Word of God in his hand, behind him th e most eventful life ever lived by mortal man. His well- lived life had stamped th e image of Christ upon th e ages. His head is bowed in the presence of his Liege- Lord, awaiting th e crowning day. I t is blessed to know th a t when P au l is crowned, we will be w itnesses of th e coronation and join in the praises in the everlasting kingdom where we will give Him glory forever and ever, Amen. PRACTICAL POINTS (1) The proclamation of the Word is th e p reacher’s work. (2 ) The season for service is life long. , (3 ) If you tru ck le to the taste of people, you will no t make good w ith God. (4) The foes of th e faith fu l are both w ithin and w ithout. Triumph rests w ith those who are tru e to the tru th . (5) To love th e lost and to love th e Lord’s appearing will not be “ love’s labor lo st.” (6 ) Men may fail and forsake you, b u t th e Lord will stand w ith you and streng then you. v. 6. My D eparture. P aul regards death as th e tran sferrin g of our life from the service of God on earth to the presence of God in heaven. He looks forward w i t h COMMENTS FROM joyful assurance MANY SOURCES to a more th an K eith L. Brooks sufficient recom pense of all his toils and perils, as a glorious and bount iful gift a t Christ’s second coming.— Brewster. v 7. Fough t a good fight. The Christian is seen in th is phrase as a soldier, a run n er and a stew ard.— In-
glis. W ith assured conviction th a t the object of his life was fully accomplished, he m ight well u tte r these words on which all these centuries have now set th e ir indisputable seal.— Stanley. F in ished my course. The fact th a t the g reat w orkers of - the past are falling out of the rank s should stir up every one of us to more earnest effort.— Tor- rey. K ept th e faith . Nowadays many are w illing to give it up a t th e demand of the first plausible speaker who as sures them th a t “ all scholars have now given up th is old fashioned doctrine” (Jud e 3 ) .-ÿ-Torrey. The tex t rem inds us th a t th e Christian is charged w ith a sacred tru st— th e faith. The dis charge of th is tru s t involves constant vigilance and effort.-—-Harris. v. 8. Henceforth. The ^“henceforth” m arks th e decisive moment. He looks to his sta te in a threefold aspect: (1) The past— “ I have fo u g h t;” (2 ) the immédiate present— “ th erç is laid up for m e ;” (3 ) th e fu tu re— “ th e Lord will give me in th a t day.”-—Bengel. A crown. Typical of reward. A crown or garland was to be bestowed a t the Greek national games on th e sucess- fu l competitor in the w restling, ru n ning etc.— J. F. & B. Of righteousness. The reward' is in recognition of rig h t eousness w rought in P aul by God’s Spirit. A man is justified gratuitously by the m erits of Christ through faith, and when he is so justified God accepts his works and honors them w ith a re w ard which is not th e ir due b u t is given of grace. So g reat is God’s goodness to men th a t He wills th a t th e ir works should be merits though they are mere ly H is own gifts.— Pope. A t th a t day. If anyone would love th a t day he must have a clear and deep perception of the hatefulness of sin. We cannot love the day of Christ unless we are dead to this world. This love of His appearing is th e direct and n atu ra l effect of love to Christ Himself.-—-Manning. Love His appearing. The sense is more fully given by “who have love set on.”— Camb. Bible. This is the special word for love (agapan) a word born w ithin th e bosom of revealed re lig io n .-^ Trench. Here is a special rew ard prom ised to those who love th e tru th of Christ’s second coming, and work and long for -it. It is a crown th e post- m illennialist will not receive, for he hopes to set up Christ’s kingdom w ith out the presence of the King. He can not consistently believe Christ’s coming is a t least one thousand years away and
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